The Crusade - Pt 10 - 11
by kyra
Summary: This is a Buffy/X-files/Charmed crossover. Main characters are Willow, Spike, Xander, Angel, Piper, Mulder and Scully. There would be adventure, romance, friendship and angst. Time-travelling involved although I'm going for an Indiana Jones sort of of adv


I'm experimenting with something new for this part (have mercy!), and the  
story is finally going somewhere (at least it looks that way to me). Tell  
me what you think of the direction it is going. 

  
Title: The Crusade (tentative)  
Author: Kyra   
Email: [Kyra@mailtag.com][1]  
Rating: PG-13  
Dedication: For everybody who gave me wonderful encouragement :-)  
Author's Note: This is a Buffy/X-files/Charmed crossover. Main characters  
are Willow, Spike, Xander, Angel, Piper, Mulder and Scully. There would be  
adventure, romance, friendship and angst. Time-travelling involved  
although I'm going for an Indiana Jones sort of of adventure. Alot of  
buddy-buddy stuff.  
Feedback: Please, even the bad kind. I simply can't see this blind spot  
that is my own fic. I need somebody to tell me the good from the bad. (Hope  
it's not all bad!)  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and any new characters.

**Part 10 **

Spike found himself wondering on a lush, undulating expanse of greens. He could feel the pleasant warmth of the sun snug against every part of him and the air was pure, thick with the fresh scent of nature. The brilliance of the sun was making him dizzy, while his joints throbbed in pain. Every movement was arduous for him. 

_I'm weak again_. 

Inviting laughter floated back from the blinding brightness ahead of him and Spike was helplessly drawn to it. Without any perceptible transition, he was no longer out on the vast green pasture but fighting his way up the side of a hill, a green hill. 

There was no more pain. 

He reached for the girl's hand, just as she – deciding that maybe it was out of line for a commoner – began to pull it anxiously back. Spike, grinning, leaned forward and took the hand all the same. 

_Who is she? _

And the hand was gone. The girl was gone. So was all the green. 

He was in Painswick again. 

"William!" 

He knew the voice. 

"William, you shouldn't be running about! Come inside. You don't want to get hurt!" 

"No mother, please, I want to get my frog. It's disappeared into the lake!" 

Spike saw his mother dragging the little boy back into the castle as he protested vigorously, trying to wriggle out of her firm hold. 

Suddenly, Spike found himself staring into the anxious eyes of his mother. She was kneeling, hands rubbing the sides of both his arms gently, like always. 

"Will, you must know that you're not like other children. You can't afford to get hurt." At that, she pulled him into her arms and started crying. "You know I would give anything for you to be happy." 

_I would give anything for you to be happy. _

_She was always saying that. What good is it? _

"I believe you, mother. I love you. Don't cry. Please." 

_No. No, I don't! _

I'll get better. Will I not, mother?" 

"Yes … yes you will. Of course you will." 

_Liar! _

_Let go of me! Let me out! _

"I love you, William." 

Tears were in the boy's eyes. 

Spike wanted to get out of Rissington Castle. Get out of Cotswold. He wanted to be free of this weak body. He didn't want to be William Edward Lewis Frederick. 

And it was dark. Far-away voices drifted in and out. 

"Don't run, master … Please… No, you're not strong enough … Don't do that, it's dangerous … Careful, Will … … … we're going to Surrey …Your father is sick … … Just do what you're told, William … … Come on up, duke … You can do this … …You need to know the truth, Will …"

_The truth. _

"Yes, the truth." 

_Mother. _

_Where are you mother? Tell me. Tell me! _

He gazed up into the sky and saw a sprinkling of sparkling stars and the beautiful moon just over the horizon. He loved the sight of the open sky. 

_What does it matter now? _

_I'm leaving. __ _

"Spike! Spike!" 

_Spike? _

"Spike!" 

_Yes, I'm Spike. _

"What are you talking about? Who else could you be?" 

"Spike, wake up." 

_Willow. _

_Willow? _

Spike blinked and awoke slowly, struggling to shake off the dream that had come to him so intensely. 

"You were yelling." Willow looked concerned. 

"Were those … tears?" Angel pointed to his eyes and asked awkwardly. "What happened?" 

"Damn dream is all." 

Uncertain looks. 

"Go on, bugger off! Leave me alone." 

Uncertain looks again. This time, there were murmurs, but still, nobody moved. 

"What, a vampire can't dream?" Spike asked, irritated. 

"Spike, a dream this intense." Angel pushed. 

"Look, it doesn't mean anything all right." 

"It could be prophetic, Spike. An omen or something. You know how significant our dreams could be sometimes." 

Spike was tired and after some deliberation, he finally relented, a little. "It was just some stuff from the past. Fragments of … memories." He paused for a moment and added, "There were certain things that didn't happen." 

"What were they?" 

"Couldn't tell. It was vague…. There was this woman." 

"Louisa?" 

"No, not her." 

"Are you sure?" 

"_Yes_, I'm sure. Why the bloody hell would I dream of her. And enough of this questioning already! Damn, I'm hungry." He got up ready to hunt, but stopped short and let out a curse as he realized it was still bright outside. 

Angel, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere further with Spike, decided to just leave the matter alone, for now. 

"If I don't get some blood now, I'm going to drain one of you." 

"Yeah, like you could do that." 

_Hell, I hate this loser._

__"Your charm isn't growing on me, moron." 

"It would be dark in about three hours, Spike. We could look for something then." 

"I'll go." Piper offered. 

"You? I'm not even sure you could catch insects, witch." 

"I can freeze, remember. And keep your fangs away from _my_ animals when I get back. I'm not hunting for _you_." 

"I'm coming with you," Mulder said, getting up. 

Just as Piper was protesting, Mulder took out his gun and continued, "You can't just freeze them."

"Right." With a single nod and an embarrassed grin, Piper headed for the exit, with Mulder following close behind. 

**Part 11 **

"Nope, nothing. Nil. Zero." 

"Well I guess those that aren't storing up sleep for the summer are all hiding." 

"Talk about freezing them. They're all gone before I could even _see_ them." 

"Maybe we're too loud," Mulder whispered. 

"It's no use. This place is dead!" Piper sighed, loudly. 

"Ssshh!" 

"I give up! I'll freeze before I freeze anything!" 

"Your voice is scaring them away." 

"Oh, whereas you sound like an angel." 

"Ouch." Mulder had sensed hostility from the witch since … well, since as long as he knew her probably. Granted, it wasn't that long, but he found it unbearable and wondered what he had done to warrant such antagonism. "You don't particularly like me much, do you?"

"_That_ was a joke!" 

"And a funny one too. You know, if not for the death glares you've been throwing at me, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it." 

The sarcasm in Mulder's voice was not lost on Piper. "Hey mister, if you would recall, I tried to get you to _not_ follow me." 

"Is _that_ what this is all about? You're punishing me for trying to help?" Mulder asked, exasperated. 

"Why, aren't you prissy, Agent Mulder?" 

"Well, _excuse_ me, lady. Prissy? Is it just you, or do witches all have an innate meanness in them?" 

"Look who's mean now?" 

"Thanks to you, Miss Halliwell, we both are." 

"Oh, don't I just _love_ your type." Piper murmured under her breath. 

It all went downhill from now. The heated, but relatively civil, argument you've already had a glimpse of, was to degenerate progressively into a pathetically childish row. It was no wonder that they would not be encountering any signs of life at all. At the end of their fruitless hunt, neither of them would know what hit them. 

****************** 

As the sun began to set, the duo at last decided to make their way back. Even though a long way from the cave, they could be heard. It certainly baffled their friends, for they sounded exactly like children. 

"Hey, you're supposed to be the man." 

"I could freeze, remember." Mulder gave an extremely bad impression of what Piper had said to Spike in the cave a while back. "And you're supposed to be the witch with the super freezing power. Guess Spike really wouldn't be getting his fangs on any of _your_ animals now would he?" 

"If you weren't so ugly, they would have invited us into their burrows." 

"Am I the only adult here?" 

******************* 

Angel and Scully glanced at each other, puzzled. 

"Great, just what we need," Scully sighed.

[Part 12 & 13][2]

   [1]: mailto:Kyra@mailtag.com
   [2]: master.cfm?action=story-read&storyid=64536



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